Revision as of 22:06, 28 July 2010

DISABLED/HANDICAPPED

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides civil rights protection for persons with disabilities that are parallel to those that have been established for women and minorities. The passage of the ADA was a major victory for the equal rights of people with disabilities. The Department of Rehabilitation provides full implementation of ADA to provide training, consultation, technical assistance for business, employers, employees, job applicants, and consumers of public and private services. The Department of Rehabilitation develops, purchases, provides, and advocates for programs and services in vocational rehabilitation, habilitation and independent living with a priority on serving persons with all disabilities.

EMPLOYMENT:

Employment practices cannot discriminate against qualified persons with disabilities in the application and recruitment processes, hiring, advancement, training, compensation or discharge of an employee, or in any other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Reasonable accommodation is not required if it creates an undue hardship for the employer.

PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES:

State and local governments cannot discriminate against persons with disabilities or from excluding participation or denying benefits of programs, services or activities to persons with disabilities.

All private and public transportation systems must be accessible to all people, including individuals with disabilities. All new buses, rail and subway cars are required to be accessible to people who use wheelchairs. Retrofitting of existing buses is not required. (Regulation of transportation provisions falls under jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

PRIVATE SECTOR SERVICES:

Private businesses must not discriminate in the "goods, services, facilities, procedures, and privileges, advantages and accommodations" offered to the public. Places of public accommodation include motels, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, convention centers, grocery stores, clothing stores, malls, museums, libraries, gyms, bowling alleys, amusement parks, or just about any other facility commonly used by the general public.

TELECOMMUNICATION:

The ADA requires common carriers offering telephone services to the general public to increase the availability of interstate and intrastate telecommunication relay services to individuals with hearing and speech impairments. All common carriers of telephone services must offer non-voice relay services which interface with voice services. Compliance rests with the Federal Communications Commission.

Government agencies are required to make "readily accessible and usable" all public facilities on which construction or alteration was begun after January 1992. The public sector
is obligated to have "program access" whether or not specific facilities are physically accessible.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission publication to help individual determine whether has a disability as defined by ADA with respect to employment provisions.

Definition of the Term Disability
(800) 949-4232 (hotline)

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Provides information, advocacy, training, and referral services for people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities on a full range of disability civil rights laws.

The Department of Developmental Services assists developmentally disabled individuals who have mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or closely related conditions
which require similar treatment. Conditions that are solely physical in nature are not included.

The Alliance for Technology Access is a nonprofit organization with 40 technology resource centers throughout the state for people with disabilities. They provide information on parent
support groups and centers where equipment can be tried. Also provides evaluations for
assistive technology related to computer use.

The California Center for Law and the Deaf provide legal advice and assistance for deaf/hearing impaired in areas of marketplace, public facilities, special education, media emergency information, and telecommunications access. Handles individual and class action suits.

The US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA) works on automotive safety for disabled consumers to develop safety standards for driving adaptive devices. NHTSA is currently focused on steering devices that attach to steering wheels that might interfere with airbags.

The Protection and Advocacy, Inc. provides a manual to assist the consumer with questions related to the listed programs below to assist the disabled. The manual may be ordered over the phone. Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) would appreciate a $10.00
donation for the manual which is available in English, Spanish, (in specific sections it is available in Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese). For blind individuals, the manual is available on audio tape.

Private health benefit plans

Regional Centers

California Children's Services

Reasonable Accommodations in Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation (including loan programs)

Social Security Work Incentives

Special Education

Medi-Cal

Medicare

Veterans Administration

Consumers wanting information on special technology for vehicles (hand controls,
etc.) may get information through Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI),